DOCSLIB.ORG

Transmission of Collective Memory and Jewish Identity in Post-War Jewish Generations Through War Souvenirs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Transmission of Collective Memory and Jewish Identity in Post-War Jewish Generations Through War Souvenirs heritage Article Transmission of Collective Memory and Jewish Identity in Post-War Jewish Generations through War Souvenirs Jakub Bronec C2DH—Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History, University of Luxembourg, Maison des Sciences Humaines 11, Porte des Sciences, L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; [email protected] Received: 14 May 2019; Accepted: 30 June 2019; Published: 2 July 2019 Abstract: The article includes a sample of testimonies and the results of sociological research on the life stories of Jews born in the aftermath of World War II in two countries, Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg. At that time, Czechoslovak Jews were living through the era of de-Stalinization and their narratives offer new insights into this segment of Jewish post-war history that differ from those of Jews living in liberal, democratic European states. The interviews explore how personal documents, photos, letters and souvenirs can help maintain personal memories in Jewish families and show how this varies from one generation to the next. My paper illustrates the importance of these small artifacts for the transmission of Jewish collective memory in post-war Jewish generations. The case study aims to answer the following research questions: What is the relationship between the Jewish post-war generation and its heirlooms? Who is in charge of maintaining Jewish family heirlooms within the family? Are there any intergenerational differences when it comes to keeping and maintaining family history? The study also aims to find out whether the political regime influences how Jewish objects are kept by Jewish families. Keywords: Jewish family heirlooms; Jewish material culture; ritual items 1. Introduction In recent years, the systematic decentering of discourse has given rise to discussions on how the interactions between humans and non-human items (places, objects) influence and shape our thinking, our feeling and our approach to the framing and writing up of research [1]. This article considers the relationship between particular objects and their owners, and explores how these objects can represent invaluable tools for keeping family memories alive. The case study is based on interviews recorded with the owners of family objects in which they share the importance of the experiences embodied in the selected artifacts. The relationship between the people and the items is considered as an interactive space in which objects (various relics, souvenirs and day-to-day items) maintain a physical and mental continuity of commemoration. Taking this statement as a starting point, the case study aims to answer the following research questions: What is the relationship between the Jewish post-war generation and their family heirlooms? Who is in charge of maintaining Jewish family heirlooms within the family? Are there any intergenerational and international differences when it comes to keeping and maintaining family history? When it comes to these questions, there has been little scholarly effort to explore the country-specific characteristics of Jewish heirlooms across the post-war generations. No scholarly account has thus far satisfactorily investigated the ways in which contemporary Jews in the diaspora actually feel about their ancestors and the world that surrounds them. In view of the lack of research, my study seeks to partly cover this rarely explored topic in order to provide a concise comparative analysis. Heritage 2019, 2, 1785–1798; doi:10.3390/heritage2030109 www.mdpi.com/journal/heritage Heritage 2019, 2 1786 In Czechoslovakia, a large number of parents failed to keep religious practices alive. There was a tendency to break all ties with Jewish religious traditions, Yiddish (as a spoken language) and Jewish education. Secular Jewish culture was first Sovietized and then entirely excluded from the public sphere. The little that remained became subject to severe political censorship [2]. Some Czechoslovak Jews and families with Jewish roots lost their shared view of Jewishness, which had been considered fundamental to the family just a few generations earlier [3]. However, thanks to well-guarded family artifacts, they were at least able to retain childhood memories of their parents and grandparents. Jews in Luxembourg were confronted with strict citizenship requirements if they wished to return after World War II. Returnees were largely Ashkenazi and, as before the war, the community pushed for integration and assimilation. However, they were soon faced with a new wave of Sephardic immigrants, who came to Luxembourg because of the civil war in French colonies (Morocco, Algeria) in the 1960 s [4]. They brought new religious traditions and different perceptions of Holocaust history to Luxembourg. Their family heirlooms were generally not tinged with memories of the Holocaust, unlike those of many Ashkenazi descendants. The Sephardi Jews living in Luxembourg were spared the mass deportation and mass murder that afflicted other Jewish communities, which is why their family history is different. In my case study, family heirlooms are objects associated with Jewish cultural heritage that have been passed down through a family over several generations. They do not have to be objects that are strictly connected with the Shoah or religious matters. They also include day-to-day objects that remind them of the origins and fate of their ancestors. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of the socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values of a particular group of people. Jewish religious objects embody institutional complexes and practices, while also carrying a powerful emotional charge and value structure emanating from the idea of shared cultural intergenerational meanings [5]. Over recent decades, recollections of historical trauma have become increasingly important for the formation of collective memories, and questions of political power, voice and representation also have a significant impact [6]. These material-based memories can represent a powerful way of enacting and sharing the meanings of lost worlds between survivors and their descendants. The overarching argument followed in my paper is that memories are more likely to be stored in tales, photos, letters and objects than in texts [7]. 2. Methodology The datasets used in this article contain qualitative and quantitative data from autobiographical interviews and anonymous questionnaires composed of 32 questions about a variety of topics, 6 of which are dedicated to family heirlooms and ritual objects. Respondents are divided into categories according to their generation and where they live. The sample comprises people born between 1945 and 1980 who live or previously lived in the former Czechoslovakia or Luxembourg. All respondents are involved in either Jewish municipalities or consistories associated with Liberal, Reform or Orthodox Judaism. Most of the questions were multiple choice, but respondents were given the option to supplement their answers with lengthier comments. There were also questions with a scale from 1 to 5 where participants were asked to indicate their preferences. The datasets gathered from additional comments are more extensive than the information collected through the limited number of questions. Given the considerable geographical distances among the analytical samples of respondents, I had to rely on a sociological method called snowballing and the pyramid method of sampling [8]. I used Jewish youth organizations and their current and former members as a starting point for the sampling. I sent them copies of the questionnaire with a cover letter explaining my study. In general, the sampling Heritage 2019, 2 1787 of Luxembourgish and Czechoslovak Jews1 was dependent on Jewish communal opinion-makers. The sample includes respondents from all kinds of Jewish currents and movements, as well as those who emigrated and those who remained in Luxembourg or in the former Czechoslovakia. I also included those who are now living elsewhere but maintain ties to these countries by visiting friends and relatives. The quantitative and qualitative data drawn from the autobiographical questionnaire provided me with a complex view of the opinions of post-war Jewish generations. Respondents were asked to identify themselves in terms of the following criteria: Vital statistics (including spouse’s nationality and Jewish descent) and parental background (mixed parentage). The contemporary Jewish community cannot be taken as the unified and homogeneous group of people. Nowadays, both of the Jewish societies considered in the study (Luxembourg and the former Czechoslovakia) are composed of Jews with different ethnic and national backgrounds affected by various currents, movements and initiatives. My research could therefore not focus solely on Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews who perfectly met halachic criteria. According to Jewish religious (halachic) law, a Jew is a person born to a Jewish mother, but this definition is too restrictive to satisfy contemporary social realities. I also involved those who meet the conditions of the Law of Return2, and my sample therefore involves secular and religious Jews, converts, and halachic and non-halachic Jews. In addition, I conducted 30 in-depth interviews with Jews3 in order to refine and clarify the answers contained in the questionnaire. The age of the interviewees ranged from 38 to 83, with equal gender representation. None of the interviews exceeded 60 minutes. 3. Do Material Elements Shape Memories
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lulav-And-Etrog-Instructions.Pdf
    אֶּתְ רֹוג לּולָב LULAV AND ETROG: THE FOUR SPECIES What they are and what to do with them INTRODUCTION The commandment regarding the four species (of the lulav and etrog) is found in the Torah. After discussing the week-long Sukkot festival, specific instructions for how to celebrate the holiday are given. Leviticus 23:40 instructs: םּולְקַחְתֶּ לָכֶּם בַּיֹוםהָרִ אׁשֹון פְרִ י עֵץ הָדָרכַפֹּת תְ מָרִ ים וַעֲנַף עֵץ־עָבֹּת וְעַרְ בֵי־נָחַל ּושְ מַחְתֶּ ם לִפְ נֵי ה' אֱֹלהֵיכֶּם ׁשִבְ עַת יָמִ ים “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before Adonai your God seven days." These are the four species that form the lulav and etrog. The four species are waved in the synagogue as part of the service during the holiday of Sukkot. Traditionally, they are not waved on Shabbat because bringing these items to the synagogue would violate the prohibition against carrying. Some liberal synagogues do wave the lulav and etrog on Shabbat. While it is customary for each individual to have a lulav and etrog, many synagogues leave some sets in the synagogue sukkah for the use of their members. The lulav and etrog may also be waved at home. Below you will find some basic information about the lulav and etrog, reprinted with permission from The Jewish Catalogue: A Do-It-Yourself Kit, edited by Richard Siegel, Michael Strassfeld and Sharon Strassfeld, published by the Jewish Publication Society. HOW THE FOUR PARTS FIT TOGETHER The lulav is a single palm branch and occupies the central position in the grouping.
    [Show full text]
  • Beat It! the Ritual Of
    Beat It! The Ritual of H avatat A m vot Bradley ShavitArtson O ne of Judaism’s oddest rituals is that of beating the amvot (willow fronds) during the services for Hoshanah Rabbah, the final Hoi ha-Mo’ed day of Sukkot. While there is no explicit commandment in the Torah, the rab­ bis of the Mishnah and Talmud understand the ritual of the aravah to be d’o- raita} A ritual which was originally distinctive to the Temple, in which the aravot were laid by the sides of the altar and paraded around that altar on each day of Sukkot, its transfer and transformation to the synagogue (in which the aravah is no longer paraded, but beaten) leaves us with a series of unanswered questions: there is an ancient dispute about how it is to be performed (and where). Most perplexing of all, there is no persuasive explanation for why it is contemporary practice to beat the aravot against the floor. As anthropologist and folklorist Theodor Gaster notes: “so different a meaning is now read into it [the ritual of the willow] that its original purport can no longer be recog­ nized.”2 A similar admission of ignorance, from a more traditionally-religious source, affirms that “this custom of beating the aravah on the ground con­ tains profound esoteric significance, and only the Great of Israel merit the knowledge of those secrets. The uninitiated should intend merely to abide by the custom of the Prophets and the Sages of all the generations.”3 Why do we beat the willow? 1 See Sukkah 43b.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hebrew-Jewish Disconnection
    Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University Master’s Theses and Projects College of Graduate Studies 5-2016 The eH brew-Jewish Disconnection Jacey Peers Follow this and additional works at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/theses Part of the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citation Peers, Jacey. (2016). The eH brew-Jewish Disconnection. In BSU Master’s Theses and Projects. Item 32. Available at http://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/32 Copyright © 2016 Jacey Peers This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. THE HEBREW-JEWISH DISCONNECTION Submitted by Jacey Peers Department of Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Bridgewater State University Spring 2016 Content and Style Approved By: ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Joyce Rain Anderson, Chair of Thesis Committee Date ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Anne Doyle, Committee Member Date ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Julia (Yulia) Stakhnevich, Committee Member Date 1 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my mom for her support throughout all of my academic endeavors; even when she was only half listening, she was always there for me. I truly could not have done any of this without you. To my dad, who converted to Judaism at 56, thank you for showing me that being Jewish is more than having a certain blood that runs through your veins, and that there is hope for me to feel like I belong in the community I was born into, but have always felt next to.
    [Show full text]
  • Lulav on Shabbat
    בס"ד Volume 8. Issue 35 Lulav on Shabbat The fourth perek lists the mitzvot performed during sukkot establishing Rosh Chodesh. The Tosfot Yom Tov stresses including the number of days that the mitzvah applies. The that the Gemara was referring to the times of the Beit first of these is the mitzvah of lulav; or more accurately the HaMikdash and that even though those people outside mitzvah of arbaat haminim (four species). According to Israel may have known how to calculate Rosh Chodesh, Torah law, the mitzvah of lulav is to be performed in the since they had to rely on it being fixed in Eretz Yisrael, Beit HaMikdash for the seven days of Sukkot (excluding they were considered as if they did not know. Such an Shimini Atzeret). Outside the Beit Hamikdash the mitzvah explanation however does not help the Bartenura due to to shake lulav was only for the first day. The Mishnah what appears to be an inconsistency between his however teaches that it is possible that the mitzvah would explanation here and his ruling regarding etrog stated apply in the Beit HaMikdash for either six or seven days of above.1 What then is our status nowadays with respect to sukkot depending on the year. If the first day of sukkot was establishing Rosh Chodesh? Shabbat, then the mitzvah was performed for seven days. If however the first day was not Shabbat, meaning that The Tosfot Yom Tov suggest that explanation of the Shabbat was on one of the remaining days of Sukkot, then Rambam should solve our difficulty whose ruling the the mitzvah was performed for six days with it not being Bartenura shares in the above two cases.
    [Show full text]
  • Sefer Torah Shel Moshiach
    להביא לימות המשיח Sefer Torah shel Moshiach לזכות דוד בן שיינא וזוגתו מרת פערל גאלדא בת לאה, ומשפחתם לוי, שניאור זלמן, מינא עטל, מאיר, וגבריאל נח שיקויים בהם ברכת כ"ק אדמו"ר להצלחה רבה ומופלגה במילוי שליחותם בשמפיין, איל. SHEVAT 5776 12 A CHASSIDISHER DERHER פרסום ראשון! NEVER BEFORE SEEN DOCUMENTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS camps across Europe, although the Simchas Torah in Lubavitch is extent of the unbelievable destruction renowned for its lebedikeit and the was not apparent yet. It was during amazing energy the Rabbeim poured this dark time that the Frierdiker into the Chassidim. It is also a time Rebbe worked to uplift the spirits when the Rabbeim would often talk of the Yidden and to inspire them more openly to the Chassidim about to return to Hashem with complete projects or ideas that were very dear teshuva. These are the birth pangs of to them. Moshiach, he would say, and now an On the night of Simchas Torah opportune time to bring him and the 5702, during the farbrengen before complete geulah. hakafos, the Frierdiker Rebbe spoke With those few words the project to the Chassidim of writing a special to write a ‘Welcoming of Moshiach Sefer Torah with which to greet Sefer Torah’ began. At first the Moshiach. Frierdiker Rebbe was going to sponsor “With the help of Hashem and in the writing himself, as a private merit of my holy ancestors, I merited and personal secret, but then he to have the thought to become, bli reconsidered.2 “During the Simchas neder, a messenger of Torah meal, while speaking about the klal Yisrael to write a special Torah—‘The Welcoming of Moshiach Sefer Torah’—with which to (go out and) welcome Moshiach speedily in our d ay s .” 1 This was at the height of the Holocaust.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents | Shabbat Across Ramah Shiron
    Table of Contents | Shabbat across ramah shiron Compiled by camp ramah in new england - Shira Hadracha 2014 Rutie MacKenzie-Margulies, Sarah Young, Hillel Schwarzman, and Jon Hayward -Under the direction of Ellie Deresiewicz יחד - p.3 p. 12 Yachad אחינו – Acheinu כל–העולם כלו - p. 3 p. 13 Kol Ha’Olam Kulo אליך – Elecha לא עליך - p. 3 p. 13 Lo Alecha אם אשכחך - Im Eshkachech מהרה – p. 3 p. 14 Meheira אנא בכח - Ana B’Koach מנוחה ושמחה - p. 4 p. 14 Menucha V’Simcha אני ואתה - Ani V’Ata מפי אל - p. 4 p. 15 Mipi El אני והגלשן שלי - Ani V’HaGalshan Sheli מקלות מים רבים - p. 5 p. 15 Mikolot Mayim Rabim אני נולדתי - Ani Nolad’ti מתחת לשמים - p. 6 p. 16 Mitachat La’Shamayim אשת חיל - Eshet Chayil נחמו - p. 6 p. 16 Nachamu אתה הראת - Ata Hareita עבדו - p. 6 p. 16 Ivdu בלבבי – Bilvavi עוד יבוא שלום - p. 7 p. 17 Od Yavo Shalom בשם ה‘ - Beshem Hashem עוף זלגו - p. 7 p. 18 Uf Gozal בשנה הבאה - Bashana Ha’Ba’ah עושה שלום - p. 7 p. 18 Oseh Shalom דוד מלך - David Melech על כל אלא p. 8 p. 19 Al Kol Eleh דודי לי - Dodi Li ענין של זמן - p. 8 p. 20 Inyan Shel Zman דרור יקרא - D’ror Yikra ערב של שושנים - p. 9 p. 20 Erev Shel Shoshanim דרכנו – Darkeinu פיה פתחה - p. 10 p. 21 Piah Patcha הללויה – Halleluyah רוממו – p. 10 p. 21 Rommemu המלאך – Hamalach צדיק כתמר - p. 11 p.21 Tzadik Katamar והאר עינינו - Vehaer Eineinu צור משלו - p.
    [Show full text]
  • Varieties of Authenticity in Contemporary Jewish Identity
    [133] Contempo- Varieties of Authenticity rary Jewish Identity in Contemporary Jewish • Identity Stuart Z. Charmé Stuart Z. Charmé uch discussion about religious pluralism among Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews, about assimilation and Jewish conti- Mnuity, about Jewish life in Israel and in the Diaspora, and about a variety of other issues related to Jewish identity all invoke “authenticity” as the underlying ideal and as the ultimate legitimizer (or de-legitimizer) of various positions. In an address to the graduating class of Reconstructionist rabbis in 1983, Irving Howe encouraged the next generation of rabbis to “try for an atmosphere of authenticity, wherever you find yourselves.”1 An Orthodox rabbi in Philadelphia recently encouraged liberal Jews to share a Sabbath meal at an Orthodox home in order to see “how special an authentic Shabbas really is.”2 Israel, claimed Daniel Elazar, is “the only place in the world where an authentic Jewish culture can flourish (at least potentially). Even the more peripheral of American Jews are touched by the Jewish authenticity of Israel, while the more committed find the power of Israel in this respect almost irresistible.”3 And in response to such typical Zionist authenticity claims, one of Philip Roth’s literary alter egos proposes that Europe, not Israel, is “the most authentic Jewish homeland there has ever been, the birthplace of rabbinic Judaism, Hasidic Judaism, Jewish secularism, socialism, on and on.”4 Authenticity has become the key term for postmodern reconstruc- tions and “renewals” of
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot Daf Hashavua
    בס״ד ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת SHAVUOT In loving memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi Volume 32 | #35 Welcome to a special, expanded Daf Hashavua 30 May 2020 for Shavuot at home this year, to help bring its 7 Sivan 5780 messages and study into your home. Chag Sameach from the Daf team Shabbat ends: London 10.09pm Sheffield 10.40pm “And on the day of the first fruits…” Edinburgh 11.05pm Birmingham 10.22pm (Bemidbar 28:26) Jerusalem 8.21pm Shavuot starts on Thursday evening 28 May and ends after Shabbat on 30 May. An Eruv Tavshilin should be made before Shavuot starts. INSIDE: Shavuot message Please look regularly at the social media and websites by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the US, Tribe and your community for ongoing updates relating to Coronavirus as well as educational programming Megillat Rut and community support. You do not need to sign by Pnina Savery into Facebook to access the US Facebook page. The US Coronavirus Helpline is on 020 8343 5696. Mount Sinai to Jerusalem to… May God bless us and the whole world. the future Daf Hashavua by Harry and Leora Salter ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת Shavuot Shavuot message by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis It was the most New York, commented that from stunning, awe- here we learn that the Divine inspiring event revelation was intended to send a that the world has message of truth to everyone on ever known. Some earth - because the Torah is both three and a half a blueprint for how we as Jews millennia ago, we should live our lives and also the gathered as a fledgling nation at the foundational document of morality foot of Mount Sinai and experienced for the whole world.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethiopian Jews in Canada: a Process of Constructing an Identity
    Ethiopian Jews in Canada: A Process of Constructing an Identity Esther Grunau Department of Anthropology McGill University, Montreal c November, 1995 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts, Anthropology. © Esther Grunau, 1995 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ll Abstract IV Chapter 1 : Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Historical Background 17 Chapter 3: Emigration out ofEthiopia 32 Chapter 4: The Construction of Group Identity in Israel 46 Chapter 5: The Canadian Experience 70 Conclusion Ill Appendix A: Maps 113 Appendix B: Ethiopian Jewish Informants 115 Appendix C: Glossary 118 Appendix D: Abbreviations 120 References Cited 121 11 Acknowledgments This thesis could not have been completed without the support and assistance of several individuals and organizations. My supervisor, Professor Allan Young, encouraged me throughout the M.A. program and my thesis to push myself intellectually and creatively. I thank him for his gu~dance, constructive comments and support through my progression in the program and the evolution of my thesis. Professor Ell en Corin carefully supervised a readings course on Ethiopian Jews and identity which served as the background for this thesis. Throughout my progression in the course and in the M. A. program she was always available to discuss ideas with me, and her invaluable comments and support helped me to gain focus and direction in my work. Dr. Laurence Kirmayer provided me with a forum to explore the direction of my thesis through my involvement in the Culture and Mental Health Team. His insightful comments on how to link cultural anthropology with mental health challenged me to think more clearly about my graduate work and my career.
    [Show full text]
  • The Performativity of the Torah Scroll in Jewish Ritual
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Spring 5-6-2021 The Communal Roots of the Tree of Life: The Performativity of the Torah Scroll in Jewish Ritual Joseph Maybloom CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/735 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THE COMMUNAL ROOTS OF THE TREE OF LIFE: THE PERFORMATIVITY OF THE TORAH SCROLL IN JEWISH RITUAL by Joseph Maybloom Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre, Hunter College The City University of New York May 5, 2021 May 5, 2021 Dr. Claudia Orenstein Date Thesis Sponsor May 5, 2021 Dr. Mira Felner Date Second Reader Table of Contents Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................ii Introduction: The Torah as/in Ritual………………………………………………………………1 Chapter One: Constructing the Torah: A Divine Performance…………………………………..15 Chapter Two: (Re)Enacting the Covenant in the Seder K’riat Ha’Torah………………………...28 Chapter Three: Grieving an Object(ive) Loss: The Ritual Burial of a Sefer Torah…………….....44 Conclusion: Returning the Torah to the Ark…………………………………………………......59 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..64 Maybloom ii Acknowledgements I owe a debt of gratitude to many for their help and support in bringing this thesis to life. First, a tremendous thank you to Dr. Claudia Orenstein for providing me so many opportunities to grow at Hunter over the past few years and for overseeing this thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Sukkot Potpourri
    Sukkot Potpourri [note: This document was created from a selection of uncited study handouts and academic texts that were freely quoted and organized only for discussion purposes.] Byron Kolitz 30 September 2020; 12 Tishrei 5781 Midrash Tehillim 17, Part 5 - Why is Sukkot so soon after Yom Kippur? (Also referred to as Midrash Shocher Tov; its beginning words are from Proverbs 11:27. The work is known since the 11th century; it covers only Psalms 1-118.) In your right hand there are pleasures (Tehillim 16:11). What is meant by the word pleasures? Rabbi Abin taught, it refers to the myrtle, the palm-branch, and the willow which give pleasure. These are held in the right hand, for according to the rabbis, the festive wreath (lulav) should be held in the right hand, and the citron in the left. What kind of victory is meant in the phrase? As it appears in the Aramaic Bible: ‘the sweetness of the victory of your right hand’. That kind of victory is one in which the victor receives a wreath. For according to the custom of the world, when two charioteers race in the hippodrome, which of them receives a wreath? The victor. On Rosh Hashanah all the people of the world come forth like contestants on parade and pass before G-d; the children of Israel among all the people of the world also pass before Him. Then, the guardian angels of the nations of the world declare: ‘We were victorious, and in the judgment will be found righteous.’ But actually no one knows who was victorious, whether the children of Israel or the nations of the world were victorious.
    [Show full text]
  • Sukkot in the Torah דַּבֵּ ר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
    BY RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS “For seven days you shall dwell in Sukkot… This is so that future generations will know Sukkot in the Torah that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.” ּדַ ּבֵר ֶאל ּבְנֵי יִ ְש ׂרָ ֵאל לֵ ֹאמר ּ ַב ֲח ִמ ּׁ ָשה עָ ָש ׂר יוֹם לַ ֹחדֶשׁ ַה ּׁ ְש ִב ִיעי ַה ּזֶה ַחג ַה ּסֻכּוֹת Rabbi Eliezer holds that these booths were the Clouds of Glory which encircled ׁ ִשבְעַת יָ ִמים לַ ֹידוָד: ּ ַביּוֹם ָהרִאשׁוֹן ִמ ְקרָא ֹקדֶשׁ ּכָל ְמלֶאכֶת עֲ ֹבדָה ֹלא ַתעֲשׂוּ: and protected us throughout our stay in ׁ ִשבְעַת יָ ִמים ּ ַת ְקרִיבוּ ִא ּׁ ֶשה לַ ֹידוָד ּ ַביּוֹם ַה ּׁ ְש ִמינִי ִמ ְקרָא ֹקדֶשׁ יִ ְהיֶה לָכֶם the desert. Rabbi Akiva explains that the verse refers to the actual tents in which וְ ִה ְקרַבְ ּ ֶתם ִא ּׁ ֶשה לַ ֹידוָד עֲצֶרֶת ִהוא ּכָל ְמלֶאכֶת עֲ ֹבדָה ֹלא ַתעֲשׂוּ: ֵא ּלֶה מוֹעֲדֵי .we lived while sojourning the desert יְ ֹדוָד ֲא ׁ ֶשר ּ ִת ְקרְאוּ ֹא ָתם ִמ ְקרָ ֵאי ֹקדֶשׁ לְ ַה ְקרִיב ִא ׁ ֶשּה לַ ֹידוָד ֹעלָה ִוּמנְ ָחה זֶ ַבח Talmud, Tractate Sukkah 11b וּנְ ָס ִכים ּדְ ַבר יוֹם ּבְיוֹמוֹ: ִמ ּלְ ַבד ׁ ַש ּבְ ֹתת יְ ֹדוָד ִוּמ ּלְ ַבד ַמ ּ ְת ֵנוֹתיכֶם ִוּמ ּלְ ַבד ּכָל What is the significance of the tents נִדְרֵיכֶם ִוּמ ּלְ ַבד ּכָל נִדְ ֹב ֵתיכֶם ֲא ׁ ֶשר ּ ִת ּ ְתנוּ לַ ֹידוָד: ַאךְ ּ ַב ֲח ִמ ּׁ ָשה עָ ָש ׂר יוֹם לַ ֹחדֶשׁ in the desert that they deserve such a serious commemoration? The Sukkah ַה ּׁ ְש ִב ִיעי ּבְ ָא ְס ּפְכֶם ֶאת ּ ְת ַבוּאת ָה ָארֶץ ּ ָת ֹחגּוּ ֶאת ַחג יְ ֹדוָד ׁ ִשבְעַת יָ ִמים ּ ַביּוֹם reminds us of the great faith of the Jewish ָהרִאשׁוֹן ׁ
    [Show full text]